ASO – Palace Theater – 05/09/09

ALBANY – Descending the always dimly lit aisles of the Palace Theatre often feels like going into a cave, but the Albany Symphony Orchestra’s season finale on Saturday night nevertheless filled the place with the light and warmth of spring. There were only two works on the program, a pair of symphonies that with very different means each evoked the ripening of nature.

Receiving its premiere, Daron Hagen’s Symphony No. 4 “River Music” honored the Hudson River Quadricentennial and featured the Albany Pro Musica singing texts of Walt Whitman and Mark Twain. Though the composer said the piece reflected his struggles with the onset of middle age, the characteristics of water – surging, pooling, cascading and continually flowing onward – still came through beautifully. Midlife seems to be giving Hagen the confidence to be conservative in his writing, for his score was tuneful and old fashioned in a mid-20th century American way.

The delivery of texts was often rhythmically staggered among the vocal sections, again bringing to mind the rippling effect of water. The first movement emphasized female voices, often in a rather limited midrange, but the men had their moments in the finale, singing in a gentle and affecting whisper.

The piece was at its best in the purely orchestral sections. Birdcalls and budding flowers came through in the more tender moments, while a central movement was a gentle urban scherzo. After several boisterous themes were introduced, they piled on top of each other with clarity but never obvious cleverness. If only more composers could deliver the ASO pieces as well crafted, intelligible and concise.

Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 completely wiped Hagen’s tunes from memory, but Hagen had his effect on the Mahler as well. His rich and fertile score emphasized the modern austerity of Mahler’s 1889 effort. In the long horizon of the opening movement, David Alan Miller’s tempos probably weren’t any slower than standard but the sunrise did seem a long time in coming.

During the fourth movement, one was nearly ready to conclude that the performance had failed to transcend from being clean and well rehearsed into a statement of gripping emotional impact. But then the violas growled out a few raw lines and the long recapitulation started coming to head. There was one climax after another, none more stirring then when the eight horns stood for one of the grandest statements in a satisfying and memorable night at the symphony.

Joseph Dalton is a local freelance writer who contributes regularly to the Times Union.